Applying for recognition based on a foreign diploma obtained inside the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland

You can apply for recognition from the Department of Health for your healthcare profession if you:

• obtained your professional qualification in an EEA country or Switzerland
• had your professional qualification recognised in an EEA country or Switzerland and you are a European citizen and you have three years of work experience in the EEA country or Switzerland.

If you have a specialisation, first apply for recognition for your basic profession, and then for your specialisation. Dentists in Belgium always need a specialisation: as a general dentist, orthodontist or periodontist. 

Send the application form for your profession and the required documents for your profession by e-mail to the Department of Care. The required documents are indicated on the application form for your healthcare profession.

• Merge all documents into a single PDF smaller than 10 MB and send your application by e-mail to internationaal.niet-universitair@vlaanderen.be for the following health care professions:
  • healthcare assistant
  • midwife
  • nurse
  • specialist nurse
  • special professional titles and special professional competences for nurses
  • paramedical professions
  • physiotherapist
  • special professional competences for physiotherapists
• Merge all documents into a single PDF smaller than 10 MB and send your application by e-mail to to internationaal.universitair@vlaanderen.be for the following health care professions:
  • physician
  • medical specialists
  • general practitioners
  • dentists
  • dentist-specialist
  • clinical psychologistsdoc file251.5kb
  • clinical special needs educationdoc file251.2kb
  • pharmacists

• We first check whether your file is complete. Is your file not complete? We will contact you by e-mail or letter and tell you what you still have to submit.
• As soon as your file is complete, the recognition procedure can begin. 
  • For professions listed in European Directive 2005/36/EC, recognition is granted automatically. 
  • For other professions, we must submit the file to the profession's recognition committee for advice. The committee will assess your file and issue a positive or negative advice or impose compensatory measures. The committee may also request additional documents and/or invite you for a hearing. 
• We will send you the advice, or if the advice is positive, the recognition decision immediately, by e-mail. 
• After you have received recognition, a visa application will automatically be initiated with the Federal Public Service Health. You need this visa to practice your profession in Belgium. The FPS Health will review your application. If additional documents are required, the FPS Health will contact you. Therefore, you do not need to apply for a visa yourself. 
• Did you receive your visa? You can register with the Order of Physicians or the Order of Pharmacists. 
• To apply for a RIZIV number, please contact RIZIV directly.